Yes, the Evil Dead remake is actually happening. Yes, the script is being... tarnished, er... polished by Diablo Cody. No, there is no God. Honest to blog.

Via AV Club:"Sam Raimi and original producing partners Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell (who also starred in the original franchise) are gearing up to remake their cult sensation THE EVIL DEAD through their long standing Ghost House Pictures partnership. Raimi and Tapert were such instant fans of Fede Alvarez’s short film “Panic Attack” that they set up a blind deal with the filmmaker and through that process have attached Fede Alvarez to write and direct the film. Alvarez wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is currently doing revisions on the draft. Ghost House is committed to renewing the franchise and has the film on the fast track.

Raimi, Tapert and Campbell will serve as producers. Ghost House Pictures partners Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane will executive produce. Nicole Brown and J.R. Young will oversee the project for Ghost House. Lionsgate will handle international sales on the film.

The three producing partners commented, "We are committed to making this movie and are inspired by the enduring popularity and enthusiasm for the ‘Evil Dead’ series. We can't wait to scare a new generation of moviegoers using filmmaking techniques that were not available to us thirty years ago as well as Fede bringing a fresh eye to the film’s original elements."

I never understood the ire and venom surrounding remakes. It's not as though the original ceases to exist, and if the remake fails, then it's forgotten and the original typically continues to thrive. If it succeeds, it succeeds and opens up the property to a whole new audience. On top of that, existing fans may get a chance to get their beloved film in a newly restored and presented manner that may or may not have happened as quickly(True Grit hitting blu-ray to co-incide with the Coen version, the upcoming Conan The Barbarian Blu-ray).

And don't give me that "Hollywood bankruptcy" sequels-remakes blah blah blah argument. There are thousands of flicks released every year, only some of them are sequels or remakes, the rest are foreign or indie

Andrew Forbes wrote:Diablo Cody, Steve. Diablo Cody. This is literally the work of the devil. The twee, quip-happy devil.

If I may be permitted to play devil's advocate for a moment: While I'm not really a Cody fan, I will note that some of her United States of Tara writing has been rather credible. And while some of her dialogue is cringe-inducing (the Rainn Wilson scene in Juno is nearly unwatchable), at least her writing has some measure of personality. And the Evil Dead franchise is nothing if not quip-happy...

Andrew Forbes wrote:Diablo Cody, Steve. Diablo Cody. This is literally the work of the devil. The twee, quip-happy devil.

I don't have to watch it. I don't give a shit.

To be clear, I'm not complaining because I'm anti-remake. I'm complaining because I was interested to see what they would do with the property, and this seems like exactly the wrong direction.

cdouglas wrote:If I may be permitted to play devil's advocate for a moment: While I'm not really a Cody fan, I will note that some of her United States of Tara writing has been rather credible. And while some of her dialogue is cringe-inducing (the Rainn Wilson scene in Juno is nearly unwatchable), at least her writing has some measure of personality. And the Evil Dead franchise is nothing if not quip-happy...

There are quips and there are quips. I've seen nothing from Cody to indicate a shared sensibility with the franchise.

I never understood the ire and venom surrounding remakes. It's not as though the original ceases to exist, and if the remake fails, then it's forgotten and the original typically continues to thrive. If it succeeds, it succeeds and opens up the property to a whole new audience. On top of that, existing fans may get a chance to get their beloved film in a newly restored and presented manner that may or may not have happened as quickly(True Grit hitting blu-ray to co-incide with the Coen version, the upcoming Conan The Barbarian Blu-ray).

And don't give me that "Hollywood bankruptcy" sequels-remakes blah blah blah argument. There are thousands of flicks released every year, only some of them are sequels or remakes, the rest are foreign or indie

Here here

I’ll just add that IMO, if for every ten crappy remakes we get something awesome (think Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead) then I can live with crappy remakes.

And who knows, Evil Dead remake could surprise everyone and be awesome too. I for one would be inclined to give Raimi the benefit of the doubt, Cody or no-Cody involvement. We could end up with MORE of a good thing regarding this franchise, so that can't be a bad outcome.

Don't worry darling, its just a hat, belonging to a small man of limited means who lost a fight with a chicken!

I just wish at an earlier time they had made a sequel to Army of Darkness when the chance was there. The original ending was begging for another chapter and it didn't happen.

"You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"-Stan Laurel
Moe-"Were you scared?" Larry-"No, just apprehensive." Moe-"Apprehensive, that's a pretty big word.What's it mean?" Larry-"That's scared with a college education!"